Dirty, Sweaty, And Naughty
by Ekwa
Summary: The obvious conclusion of all the homoerotic subtext between Jeremy and Tyler from the first season. The Vampire Diaries slash of Jeremy Gilbert and Tyler Lockwood, they become more than enemies. Jeremy/Tyler.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Tyler got to art class just in time. But because of that there was only one seat left, and it was beside Jeremy Gilbert. He reluctantly headed to Gilbert. Jeremy has seen Tyler around school, around town, and around Elena. His pompous attitude always brought attention to himself regardless of the situation. The extent of their interaction was mutual snubbing of each other. Tyler was a part of the football team, the mayors son, and a serial womanizer. Jeremy was a depressed teen who just lost his parents in a car accident who self medicated with drugs and alcohol. Not exactly compatible.

Though Jeremy never cared for Tyler, Tyler would often enter his thoughts late at night. He hated Tyler but he couldn't deny how handsome he was. How when he was in profile his strong back would curve seductively down to a small waist that would meet a round bum that betrayed many hours of working out and football practice. How his full lips might feel on his and the rest of his body. What it would feel like to run his hands over his taut muscles... The sound of Tyler plopping himself down beside Jeremy brought him back. Jeremy could feel the heat coming off Tyler's body. His presence made Jeremy hold his breath. The words, "What's up Fag? This is the only seat left, so don't go getting any ideas," easily and shamelessly fell from Tyler's mouth. He doesn't show that he's phased, trying not to betray his nature. "Yeah...I'm not pleased either. How 'bout you just not talk to me and you can keep your fag stuff to yourself okay asshole?" Tyler responds with a quick "Pft."

Jeremy has known he's liked guys for a while now. The only reason he fought so hard for Vickie was that it was his last chance to prove to everyone and himself that he was straight. He knew his desires; he fought them thinking he could perhaps change his ways, but every time he was with Vickie he would be thinking of men. Every time he kissed her he would be thinking of a Brazilian male model. Every time he had sex with her his eyes would be closed, wishing he was touching a body that was firmer and harder. He's been dogged about being gay long before he even knew what it meant; before he realized it was true. He's always been kinda shy and sensitive as a kid; he didn't like being a jerk and didn't go for football. He naturally rejected notions of what it was to be a man from his small town. He liked doing art and preferred to do solo sports instead of aggressive team sports. Elena was popular so she and her friends would protect him when they could. That only lasted so long; he couldn't just follow her around all day. Now that Vickie left town he realized that there was no escaping being gay now, but that was okay for the time being. He still had the image of being a druggie, a straight one at that. People would leave him alone-for a while.

"Okay class, the first assignment of the year is going to be portraits. You'll be doing them of your seat partner." Some groans and murmurs rise across the room. "Now, now, don't be like that, this is a classic drawing exercise that will train you to draw what you see, to really connect your eyes and hands, everyone needs to learn how to do this. All the great classical artists used this to hone their skills, and to produce some of the most timeless pieces of art. Besides, I'm your teacher, so just freaking do it okay? Fabulous!" Ms. Houston grins.

Tyler is the first to speak up. "Fucking great," he said. "I'm not that pleased either Tyler," Jeremy agreed. What a baby he thought. Tyler's eyes, from under his lowered brow, glared at Jeremy with contempt. He took shallow breaths from his slightly open mouth. Tyler gets up and as he walks out he tells Ms. Houston that he's going to the bathroom. Ms. Houston doesn't raise her head from her book and says, "Have fuuUUUUuuunnnnn." Tyler leaves the room.

As time passes Jeremy just doodles his hand in various poses.

From her desk Ms. Houston pipes up, "Oh yeah did I mention this is due next week? Yeah, I want to see where all of you are at so I can lower my expectations. Okay? Great!" 'Great!' Jeremy thinks. As he waits for Tyler to come back time goes by and it's nearly the end of class. Jeremy approaches Ms. Houston and says, "Tyler isn't back yet. Can I just join a different group or something?" he pleads. "Now," she looks down at her seating plan, "uhhh ...Jeremy," she smiles and interlocks her fingers in front of her and pulls herself forward, hunching her shoulders,"Tyler is a kind of person you will meet in life and you are going to have to learn how to deal with people like this-like him. Think of this as practice for real life," she smiles, "Just go back to your seat and wait for him to come back." As Jeremy reluctantly sits down the bell rings and the students file out the room quickly. After they all leave Tyler comes back into the room to grab his stuff.

"There you are! Where were you! I've been waiting forever!" Jeremy exclaims. "Whoa cool it, I'm not your boyfriend. I was just wandering around, not like it's any of your business." "Well this portrait is due next week and I have nothing done cause you were _waaandering_ around, so yeah, it is my business. I don't want to start the year off wrong okay? I've had enough shit from you I'm not going to calm down okay?" Jeremy got into Tyler's face as he said this. Tyler was taken aback by the taller boy. He blankly stared up into Jeremy's flushed face. "WHOA okay, I didn't know." His breath billowed over Jeremy's face with the scent of peppermint. Jeremy's eyes softened slightly at the smell. His eyes narrowed again, his forcefulness restored. "Well now you do!" "I have a game today but we can meet after?" Tyler suggested, his face scrunching trying to figure out if that would placate Jeremy. There were always games on Friday. "Good!" "Gad, I thought stoners were supposed to be calm. Get a grip," he said; his composure comes back to him. Jeremy starts coming back down to his normal calmer self, his face relaxing. A hand rests on both teenage boy's shoulder, "That's what I like to see: Teamwork. See we can all get along when we talk it out, right boys? If we work together there is no way we can lose!" Miss Houston chimes in after having watched the whole exchange. Both boys look at her with quizzical looks. She responds by smiling and turning triumphantly to leave the room. Her shape finally disappears. "She's weird," Tyler says looking at the empty doorway. Jeremy smiles and says "Yeah, she's a funny one alright." Tyler turns to look back Jeremy's face. His notices his now longer hair. He likes it better than the short haircut he had last year, the soft side swept bangs frame his face well. Tyler's eyes drift down his face to his flush red moist mouth. His gaze traces the outline of his lips. Unconsciously he sucks in his bottom lip.

Tyler is slapped back into the present as Jeremy's questioning eyes borrow into his face. "Don't be late or I'll leave with out you, okay?" Tyler spits out. He swiftly grabs his jacket and bag; he leaves the room. The look on his face says 'what the hell' as he leaves the art room. Jeremy is left in the room with a dumbfounded look on his face. Jeremy whispers, "What an asshole." The phrase chases Tyler out of the room.

Jeremy arrives after the game. He waits, in the shadow of a tree, for Tyler's friends to leave him alone with his car. He's not that keen on standing in front of Tyler's friends and having them take turns insulting him to prove their straightness. When Tyler's friends leave, Jeremy slides from the darkness and approaches Tyler with a "Hey." Tyler turns around hearing the soft voice and sees the taller boy's figure half jogging towards him. "Oh yeah," Tyler said. His face looking downward, his mouth tight and his brow furrowed. He huffs out some air as he fiddles with his duffel bag. He shoves it into the back seat of his car, trying not to remember what happened in the art room. 'God what was that,' he thinks to himself. "Good thing all my friends are gone," he says. "Yeah good thing, I don't think I could keep up with all the witty banter you guys usually keep." "Ha, ha," Tyler delivers in a unimpressed monotone. "At least we're not a loser with no friends." "At least I can do basic math. Tell me, who dresses you all in the morning? Do you guys get a team rate or something?" Jeremy replies. "Hey do you want to do this or not?" Tyler says. Jeremy sticks his chin out and sports an uneven smirk knowing he's won this time.

Tyler gets in his car and waits for Jeremy. Jeremy stands at the passenger door and waits. Tyler rolls down the window and says, "Unless you want to draw me from there, you should probably get in." Jeremy gets in the car. He can smell Tyler. The way a guy smells after exercising. It gets to Jeremy, but he tries to just look straight ahead, drumming his thighs and nodding his head slowly. Tyler inspects Jeremy's smooth face and rolls his eyes and starts to drive.

They get to the Lockwood house. Mrs. Lockwood is in the sitting room looking over some papers now that she is the new Mayor. They step into the foyer and she greets them. "Oh I didn't know you were bringing someone over Tyler, you should have told me." "Oh sorry Mom I didn't know he would be coming over today. We have this assignment and we need to get it done for Monday, so we are just gonna be in my room working on it if that's okay?" Tyler says somewhat exasperated. "That's good honey, I'll send the maid up with some drinks and snacks," she says this looking over her reading glasses with a perky smile. Tyler rolls his eyes. "Thanks Mom," he says as he flashes her a quick smile with dead eyes. She scrunches her nose with a tiny smile while raising her shoulders forward. "Thank you for your hospitality Mrs. Lockwood," Jeremy chimes in. "No problem. Have fun," she replies in a sing songy way and looks back down to the pile of papers she has in front of her.

They walk up the long staircase; their footsteps echoing in the the high ceilings. Jeremy follows Tyler closely. After getting inside Tyler's bedroom Tyler drops his bags on the floor by his dresser. Jeremy takes Tyler's room in. It's big and spacious. He takes note of his room: desk, laptop, armoire, bed, bedside table, ensuite bathroom, shelves full of sports trophies, walls covered with girls in bikinis. The room is messy as expected. Clothes strewn around. Jeremy takes a seat on Tyler's king size bed.

"I'm going to take a shower first. I'm all dirty and sweaty and naughty from the game," Tyler says. He grabs some clothes from his dresser. Jeremy watches Tyler pull out white briefs from his drawer. Tyler notices and quickly covers his underwear with a grey t shirt and grey pajama pants. Jeremy silently laughs to himself seeing Tyler slightly embarrassed. Tyler turns and goes to the bathroom. 'What a perv,' Tyler thinks to himself. Once in the washroom Tyler strips off his clothes and throws them into the hamper. He admires himself in the mirror, flexing and posing to show his muscles. He pinches at himself finding little fat. Satisfied, he then steps into the shower. The warm water feels good on his skin and sore muscles. His hands run along his body with soap. Streams of grey brown water trail off him. His mind wanders. Jeremy can hear Tyler washing himself. He imagines what it's like in there. 'NO!' he thinks to himself, 'This is Tyler Lockwood, a homophobic meat head. He's a jerk and he's always been a jerk to you, so it's best if you just get this over with and hope there aren't anymore group assignments.'

Tyler is about to step out of the bathroom shirtless but remembers Jeremy. He puts the shirt over his head. While he steps out he pulls his shirt down with one hand while towel drying his hair with the other. Jeremy sees Tyler pull down his grey shirt over his torso. Seeing just a fleeting sight of bare flesh. The shirt cannot hide Tyler's muscled chest and arms. "Like what you see Gilbert?" Tyler sneers under the hooded darkness of the towel and he lumbers towards his desk. Jeremy embarrassed looks down at his sketch book and his eyes wince in embarrassment. His cheeks warm and he turns away. Tyler reaches for the shelf over his desk for his sketch book. His shirt is kinda short and his pajama pants ride low on his hips, so a good deal of skin gets exposed when he stretches. Jeremy can't help but look at the tanned skin of his lower back. His eyes see the waist band of his briefs and then rests on his ass. The thin loose fabric of his pajama bottoms cling and conform giving everything away. Tyler comes down from his toes and grabs a pencil and eraser. With the towel still around his neck he walks over to the bed and sits cross-legged opposite Jeremy. Jeremy adopts the same pose and faces Tyler. "Are we supposed to smile?" Tyler asks as he throws off his towel. As it lands beside Jeremy the clean moist smell of soap and shampoo plumes around Jeremy's face. Jeremy inhales deeply through his nose and swallows. "Nah, I don't think it matters." Tyler flips through his sketchbook looking for a blank page. Jeremy is amazed that Tyler can actually draw. Looking at the drawings they are mostly of things that are around his room, a few hero figures in action poses. Tyler feels proud of his drawings and thumbs through the pages slowly to show of his skill. He finds a blank page and then lifts his head up to look at Jeremy. It's now Jeremy's turn to show his work. He flips through his book, it has lots of male figures. A lot of them. They are really polished and complete finished drawings. Tyler's eyebrows raises and his mouth is a small 'o'. "Don't say it," Jeremy warns. Tyler raises his hands up, "Wasn't gonna... you're good at drawing though." "Thanks," Jeremy says. "...even if you do draw lots of dudes," Tyler says. A small smile creeps across Jeremy's face. "Shut up!" Tyler smiles too. "I guess we should take turns drawing each other, so that our heads aren't moving up and down all the time while we try to draw each other," Tyler suggests. Jeremy is surprised, "Uh yeah that's a good idea." "You can go first," Jeremy says. Tyler agrees.

Tyler scrutinizes Jeremy's face. He realizes how handsome Jeremy is. He's always though of him of Elana's little sissy punk brother, but now he's grown up a lot. 'Whoa why am I thinking this!' He focuses again on drawing. Tyler looks at his lips. Jeremy's tongue flicks out to moisten them. 'It's so pink,' Tyler thinks. Jeremy realizes the change in Tyler's gaze. He smiles a bit and twinkles his eyes at him raising his eyebrows quickly a couple of times. Tyler can feel like he's going to blush so he turns away. Jeremy is confused with what's happening. Are they flirting, or is he just making Tyler uncomfortable? "So you like movies?" Jeremy says trying to diffuse this confusing and potentially dangerous situation. "Ummm yeah I like Iron man and Inception. Like action stuff you know?" "Oh no way! Inception! That was a piece of crap. They make you learn all those rules and then they just throw it out the window in the end, literally! And with that budget they don't even show you people using their dream powers, even when they are going die. Come on!" Jeremy blurts out. Tyler turns back around. "You're nuts. That movie was amazing. It was such a mind fuck trying to keep track of all the situations and stuff, and how you don't know if it's real at the end." "If you say so," Jeremy says slyly. "Fine then what movies do you like?" Tyler shoots back. "I donno, good ones? Devil Wears Prada, Little Miss Sunshine, Hurt Locker, Doubt, Kings speech, Cube..." "Brokeback mountain?" Tyler interjects. "Actually I found it kinda slow..." "Really? I thought that it was kinda beautiful and sad." This surprised Jeremy. "Really you watched it?" "Yeah a girl wanted to watch it. She said we had to or she wouldn't let me touch her." "Classy Tyler, really classy" "Well Gilbert, I do have a heart. It was pretty sad that those guys had to hide like that." "Well that's ironic. Then why do you always call people fags?" "Well, just cause I have sympathy doesn't mean I care... or something...?" Tyler said confused. Jeremy winces in confusion. "What ever man." Jeremy's hips hurt from sitting on the bed like for this long. "I'm gonna lay down for a bit." Jeremy flops back on the large bed. He wondered why Tyler needed such a large bed seeing as he wasn't the tallest of guys. Jeremy contemplated these things so he didn't notice that his shirt rode up. Tyler noticed. He tried to focus on drawing, but his eyes kept drifting back to that strip of light skin. Each stolen glace lingered longer. Jeremy stretches his long body out further exposing himself. Tyler watches intently as the shirt rises above the navel. His palms get sweaty and his breath becomes bated. Jeremy arches his back. His face flushes and he lets out a low moan and sigh. As his middle raises off the bed Tyler sees his thin midsection from the side. His loose fitting shirt hangs down off his body. Tyler tries to peer into the darkness to see more.

Knock knock came from the door. Tyler's face snaps to the source of the sound. It was Dora the maid with the refreshments. Jeremy's body relaxes back down into the bed and watches Tyler open the door. His head rolls over and looks at Tyler's sketchbook. He takes the book in his hands and studies the picture with surprise. Not much of the shading was done but there was the outline of the face and hair. The most attention was done to the eyes and lips. The eyes had a really soft clear inviting way to them and the lips were full and plump looking. This made Jeremy feel funny; his chest felt hollow. "Thanks Dora," rang from behind Jeremy, causing him to place the book back quickly and move onto his back. Tyler returns with the tray, setting it on the bed. Jeremy rolls back over, smiling at Tyler. Pink lemon aid and sandwiches sat on the tray. "I'm really hungry. How 'bout you do me now while I eat some?" Tyler suggests. "Sure," Jeremy agrees while he laughed at Tyler's choice of words. "What is it?" "Nothing man. Don't worry about it." "NO. What was so funny?" "You said 'do me now'," Jeremy chuckled. "Wow Gilbert you really want to get into my pants don't you?" Tyler responded gleefully. Jeremy's face darkened into a scowl. "What ever Tyler. Just sit still while I draw you." Tyler's face formed concern. "Whoa calm down, I was just joking." "Yeah well it's not funny okay?"Jeremy lashed back. "Okay... Sorry..." Did Tyler Lockwood just say that? Did he just say sorry? Jeremy's face lightened slightly from his scowl.

The next ten minutes were quiet. Only the sound of Tyler's munching could be heard. Jeremy's eye movements are quick and rapid. His expression is focused and analytical. Tyler's face is uncomfortable. His eyes search the bed and floor for something he never finds. He is consumed in thought, then his eyes rest down to the left. "So," Tyler starts, "how is your drawing going?" The words hit Jeremy's face and pile in his lap. Jeremy shrugs. "Can I see it?" Tyler inquires, shyly examining Jeremy's face for a positive reaction. Jeremy's stone features finally relent. "Fine." Jeremy hands his sketchbook over to Tyler. Even though he's been fidgeting and making awkward faces the face he sees on the paper is one of contentment. A slight smirk and bright eyes. Jeremy's gaze washes over Tyler's face wondering what he's thinking, hoping that he approves. "Wow, you really did a good job Gilbert. You really make me look like... a... a... nice guy..." Tyler nods. "Yeah, well, I'm really good at drawing," Jeremy says picking at his fingers smiling. "You know I really didn't mean to upset you man..." Tyler's voice offers up. He holds out the taller boy's sketchbook to him. Jeremy moves to take his book back. He over reaches and touches Tyler's hand. Tyler's hand is surprisingly smooth and warm. Jeremy's hand lingers before he moves it to take the book back. They both try to ignore what just happened. "It's getting late; I have to go home. Elena really wants everyone to be present for dinners lately," Jeremy confesses. "We have to meet again. I'm free on Sunday around 4," Tyler says. "Umm okay, here give me your number so I can text you." Jeremy passes his phone to Tyler. Tyler punches in his number quickly. When Jeremy takes his phone back, making sure not to touch Tyler again, he's already holding his things and is ready to leave. "Do you need me to give you a ride home?" Tyler asks looking downward. "No it's okay I'll walk." "It's pretty far and it's late and cold." "Well if you want to." Tyler grabs a coat and takes Jeremy to his car. They start to drive off.

Tyler keeps thinking about Jeremy's touch. He grips the steering wheel tightly. Jeremy is staring out the window. Tyler steals glances of Jeremy; his broad shoulders and strong chest. Tyler's gaze caresses Jeremy's smooth cheek then down across his jawline, culminating on his red mouth. 'God damn it," he thought, 'the fuck is this?' "You passed my house," Jeremy unknowingly interrupted, "it's back there." "Oh." Tyler reverses and pulls into the Gilbert driveway. They sit in the awkwardness that followed them from the Lockwood estate. Jeremy breaks the silence, "So yeah, that went kinda okay," referring to the project session. "Yeah," Tyler meekly hushes. Jeremy takes in what Tyler's said and nods to himself. Jeremy opens the car door and moves to leave. Tyler reaches out and grabs Jeremy's arm. The warmth from the firm grip radiates through the plaid button up Jeremy is wearing. "Wait..." Jeremy looks back into Tyler's pleading eyes. "What?" Jeremy says exasperated as he sits back down. Elena's voice rings out from the porch of the Gilbert home, "Jeremy! What are you doing? Are you okay? You're late!" She is a lone figure illuminated from above. She is grabbing her left arm, rubbing it up and down. Both boys look at her and then at each other. "I just wanted to say-" "Save it Tyler, don't worry about it." Jeremy urgently interrupts. "Look Gilbert-" "I'll see you Sunday okay?" Jeremy interrupts again, "And you can let go of me now Lockwood." Tyler looks down surprised to see he was still holding onto Jeremy; he lets go. Tyler watches Jeremy get up and close the car door. He watches him walk to an expectant Elena. Tyler can't hear what they are saying to each other but he see's Jeremy walk in first. Elena turns to look out at Tyler sitting in his car. She walks backwards, backing into the house, not breaking her glare on Tyler while she closes the door. Tyler deflates in his seat.

"Jeremy, what did he do to you? Are you okay?" "Elena it's okay I can fight my own battles. I'm a big boy now," Jeremy says defiantly. "Come on Jere. I know you. And I know when something is bothering you. I'm your sister. You can tell me anything. You know that right?" Elena strokes his arm. "I'm just trying to look out for you okay?" Elena sighs." Ever since Mom and Dad died things haven't been the greatest. Things are different. I don't want us to keep secrets from each other." "That's funny coming from you Elena." "Exactly. I kept a huge secret and it blew up in my face and I hurt you. That's what I want to avoid okay? I love you Jeremy... even though you are a huge brat. You are still my little brother and I don't want to see you get hurt. Especially by some idiot like Tyler." Jeremy is touched by his sisters concern. "Okay. Message received," he smiles, "but I better get to my room before this gets any mushier." Elena punches Jeremy in the arm. "You're such a little punk, you know that?" She smiles and hugs him. "Get out of here, you're already feeling softer." She pushes him away playfully. Jeremy scoots up the stairs to his room. The smile fading from his face as he recounts what just happened in his mind. As he lays in his bed his sense memory makes him feel the touch on his hand, the grip on his arm, and the heat from Tyler's body. The way Tyler smelled before and after he showered. The way Tyler's ass looked in his PJ's. Jeremy hugged his pillow. He knew he shouldn't be attracted to Tyler but he couldn't help it. Besides he wasn't such a jerk when he's not around other people trying to show off how tough he is.

Tyler opens the door to his room and shuts it. He leans back on the door and thinks, 'What's going on?' He kicks off his shoes and flops face down on the bed. He can smell Jeremy in his bed and he likes it.

He finds himself breathing in deep and grabbing at the sheets.

AN: The line about why Tyler needs to take a shower is clearly a joke. I'm not that delusional to write that and think it's okay.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thanks for all the positive reviews. Please keep reviewing I like the feedback and knowing what people think of it. This is my first time writing slash fanfic, or any kind of fiction really. I'll try to update regularly and keep the chapter lengths consistent.

Chapter 2

Jeremy is sitting at his desk working on the portrait. Embarrassingly enough, he was able to pretty much finish up the drawing without Tyler in front of him. Jeremy's phone buzzes in his pocket. He takes it out and looks at it. He's received a text from Tyler, 'We can't do it at my house. Can we use your room?' Jeremy's heartbeat speeds up. He types, 'yeah.' He stares at what he's written for a long time wondering if it's okay. He finally sends it and Tyler quickly responds with, 'cool :)' 'Really? A smiley face?' Jeremy thinks. He spends 10 minutes trying to figure it out. Tyler is in his room sitting on his bed, on the spot where Jeremy sat. He groans at the fact he's sent a smiley face. Jeremy gets bold and a little crazy so he sends Tyler a ';)' back. Tyler is relieved but also a bit uneasy on what that means. Tyler texts Jeremy back. "I'll see you in a bit."

Tyler starts to get ready. He takes a shower, making sure he does a exceptionally good job of it. He wants to be very clean and pleasant for Jeremy. He lies to himself that he takes this much care all the time, that this was nothing special or out of the ordinary. And it wasn't. This is ordinary. This is what he does when he's preparing for an important date. Tyler has been in the shower so long that when he exits the bathroom he exits in the cloud of steam. Sufficiently drying him self off he throws the towel across the room onto his chair. He pulls on his white briefs and then rummages through his clothes picking out the one he's received the most compliments on. These clothes where the ones that were simple and form fitting, showing off the body he's achieved through hard work and perseverance. Tyler looks in the mirror playing with his hair. He gets flustered and frustrated because it won't sit down right. He looks at the clock and realizes he should leave and grabs his bag and jacket. He runs out the door saying, "Bye Mom. Going to Jeremy's. Be back later," to a bewildered Mrs. Lockwood. Tyler hops into his car and starts to drive.

Jeremy finishes preparing his room as he starts to stuff some of the things he couldn't clean away into his already full closet. Giving his room a once over, he's satisfied that it looks good. Jeremy finds himself caring about what he's wearing. He looks down and then in the mirror. His jeans are okay but his t-shirt... it has a pot leaf on it. Unsatisfied he looks for his good white V-neck T-shirt. Vickie got it for him when they went shopping one time, she always said it looked really good on him. He can't find it. He looks through the drawer two times. He checks under his bed, searching the darkness, no luck. He goes into the bathroom to look through the hamper. While pulling and digging through the clothes he hears, "Whoa what's got you so worked up?" Elena asks. Jeremy is startled, he didn't even notice she was in there. He shoves the clothes back into the hamper and closes it trying to look less frazzled. Elena looks at him through the mirror as she drags a brush through her long hair. "Nothing, I'm just looking for my white V-neck, have you seen it? I really need it." Jeremy says. "Yeah, it's on top of the dryer, you left it inside." "Oh, okay thanks." Jeremy says, as he's about to leave the room. "Hey wait a minute, what's going on?" Elena asks as she put a hand on her hip and leans onto the counter. "It's nothing," he says standing halfway out the room and looking at her over his shoulder,"Tyler is just coming over to work on the assignment." "Oh," she says with concern. And before she can say anything else about it, Jeremy rushes down to the laundry room to finds his shirt. He peels his shirt off over his head and eagerly puts on the clean white shirt. He feels better, more secure. 'Ding dong' comes from the front door. Jeremy rushes to the door and is half way there but it's already been opened by Elena. "Hey Tyler," Elena cheerfully says while facing him. Jeremy can't see that her eyes are narrow and her mouth is tight. Tyler is phased by it and says nothing. "Hey," comes from Jeremy who is now closer. Elena turns her head to face her brother and gives him the warm smile, over her shoulder, that should have accompanied her greeting. "Hey Gilbert," Tyler says relived to see Jeremy. Elena whips her head back to look at Tyler, and doesn't move. There is a pregnant pause. Tyler looks back and forth between Jeremy and Elena. "Elena," Jeremy whispers quickly. She reluctantly moves aside and leaves just enough space for Tyler to squeak by. "Do you want anything to drink?" Jeremy asks leading Tyler to the Kitchen. Elena follows them. Tyler sees that Stefan is on the couch watching TV. "Hey." Stefan offers when he sees Tyler. "Hey," Tyler replies to Stefan and then turns to Jeremy and says, "Sure, what do you have?" Jeremy opens the door to his fridge and looks inside. "Cola, sparkling juice, and water?" "Juice." Jeremy grabs two of them from the fridge. He hands one to Tyler. Jeremy sets his down and pulls out a bowl from the cupboard. He then empties a bag of chips into the bowl. Elena is watching all of this, while giving Tyler the evil eye. Tyler unscrews the bottle and takes a nervous sip of fizzy juice. He swallows hard. Jeremy shoots Elena a dirty look and she gives him one back which says 'What!' Jeremy grabs the bowl and his bottle. "My room is this way," Jeremy says tilting his head backwards. Tyler's attitude is subdued. He follows Jeremy up the stairs. He looks back at Elena, she points to her eyes and then at him. Tyler's eyes widen. "I'll be downstairs Jere if you need anything! Anything!" Elena yells after them. She joins Stefan on the couch. "Don't worry." Stefan says. He hugs her with one arm and kisses her on the top of the head. She slumps down into him.

They finally get into his room and Jeremy closes the door. Tyler is surprised at how clean and ready the room is: the bed is freshly made and the air is fresh. They set the refreshments down on the desk. Both are too nervous to eat or drink anything. Tyler sits down on the bed and pulls out his sketchbook. He turns to the page of the portrait, it's almost done too; Tyler tries to cover it. Jeremy openly displays his drawing. Seeing that, Tyler is less embarrassed. Tyler sits on the bed with his legs hanging off the side. Jeremy rolls on his chair in front of Tyler. Their legs are almost touching. Jeremy's left knee is in front of the parted space of Tyler's legs and vice versa. They can feel each others' heat. They hold that position. They sketch for a while. Jeremy is finished and so is Tyler, but they keep pretending to sketch, not wanting to change things, both of them enjoying the closeness. All that can be heard is breathing and the familiar scratch of pencil on paper. Tyler speaks up. "I need to use the washroom." "Oh okay I'll show you." They both put their sketchbooks down and stand up hastily at the same time, but because of how close they are their feet fight for ground and Jeremy loses balance causing him to fall on top of Tyler; their legs interlock. Jeremy braces himself on his forearms. They are both stunned not knowing what to do. From the waist down, Jeremy's body is in full contact with Tyler. The weight of Jeremy baring down on Tyler is comforting. Tyler can smell the floral notes from Jeremy's conditioner. It's intoxicating.

Jeremy tries to get up. "Sorry," he says. Tyler's right hand comes up to rests on Jeremy's bicep, holding him there. Jeremy rests back down and pauses for a while. He looks for reason in Tyler's face. Tyler's eyes are soft and vulnerable. His breaths are weak and his cheeks are flushed. Jeremy gets brave and impulsive and pushes his hips down and up into Tyler. Jeremy's mouth opens slightly as he does this. Tyler takes in a sharp breath and his eyes close. There is a pause and Jeremy does it again. A weak vulnerable "Uhh" comes from Tyler. He tightens his grip on Jeremy's strong arm holding him in place, keeping the world from spinning. Tyler's thumb find it's way under the sleeve of Jeremy's t-shirt and caresses the skin. "Do you want me to stop?" Jeremy asks quietly. Tyler's eyes open. He doesn't say anything. Both boys are filling the front of their jeans rapidly, the tightness increasing. They feel each others' growing heat. Tyler's left hand brushes up Jeremy's right side. His fingers slowly curl to grasp his lower back. His right leg raises to put his foot up on the bed. Tyler swallows. With this new gained purchase he bites his bottom lip and grinds up into Jeremy while puling him down into him. This draws a shuddered and breathy "Uhhhhhhh..." from Jeremy's parted lips. Seeing the pleasure he has given to the taller boy, Tyler starts grinding up into Jeremy. Jeremy responds by moving his hips in time with Tyler's. The hard flesh trapped in their pants rubs against each other, bringing them unprecedented pleasure. Both teens are filled with surprise, fear, and lust. Their movements are so urgent. Jeremy presses his chest down onto Tyler's and grabs hold onto his shoulders for a better grip. His head dips down into the crook of Tyler's neck and breaths in deeply. He can smell the older boy's hair products, soap, and shampoo. But through that he can smell Tyler and he likes it. The smell of his flesh fills his nose; he wants to lick him. Tyler can feel Jeremy's breathing on his neck. This makes Tyler feel weak and his right hand comes to the back of Jeremy's head pulling him in. The sound of rubbing fabric and staggered belaboured breathes fills the room. Their movements become more frantic. They hump into each other. The squeaking of the bed speeds up. Jeremy starts letting out grunts and high pitched sighs betraying how aroused he is. Tyler is trembling under the onslaught of friction. "Uhh... so close, don't stop," Tyler pleads as he hugs Jeremy tighter. Neither boy has ever felt this good, it's as if fire as been breathed into them.

Stefan can hear the boys fumble and fall down. He turns his head to look toward Jeremy's room. "What is it?" Elena asks. "I heard something from Jeremy's room." "What can you hear? What is it?" she persists. Stefan sits still for a moment and listens. His eyes widen. He can hear everything clearly and knows _exactly_ what is going on. "Umm uhh it's probably nothing." Elena gets up. "What are you doing? Where are you going?" "I'm going to check in on them." "Just leave them alone. Come back and sit down." "I'll be quick." Stefan couldn't say anything else with out betraying what was privately going on in that room. Warning them in front of Elena would be suspicious. And forcing her not to go would be the same. He was powerless. He just had to hope they would hear her coming or just stop before she got there. As she scales the stairs and get closer she could hear struggling and grunts. She speeds up and runs to the door.

"Uhh... so close, don't stop," Tyler pleads as he hugs Jeremy tighter. Neither boy has ever felt this good, it's as if fire as been breathed into them.

The bedroom door bursts open and when Tyler sees Elena's face, he throws Jeremy off with a big push and yells, "Get off me faggot!" Jeremy lands on the floor extremely confused. Tyler quickly grabs all his stuff and pushes Elena aside, quickly rushing down the stairs and out the door. Elena quickly kneels down next to Jeremy. "Are you okay? I knew this was a bad idea!" Elena says with righteous indignation. "Why did you come to my room?" Jeremy pleads with exasperation. "Stefan heard some scuffling so I though I would check up on you," she reasoned, "and then I saw you two wrestling. I'm gonna so kick his ass!" "Elena, I'm fine okay! I told you I can handle myself!" Elena's head moves back. "I'm just looking out for you." "Yeah, I know. And I'm okay. I'll be okay. Okay!" Elena rubs Jeremy's arm and tries to help him up but he pulls away. He doesn't want her touching him and he especially doesn't want to _get up just yet_. "Okay..." She leaves the room. Jeremy is so confused. 'What just happened? Did I just really... with Tyler Lockwood?'

Tyler drives home thinking, 'Oh my god, oh my god, what was that?' He's very panicked. 'This can't be happening to me. This is really screwed up, especially with Gilbert. This is beyond messed up.' Tyler looks at the passenger seat. The drawing of Jeremy looks up at him. He covers it with his jacket. Tyler blows into his house. His mother sees him. "Did you finally finish that assignment with that Gilbert boy? I hope you two aren't becoming friends. You need to surround yourself with the _right_ kind of people who will bring and foster success. He's not_ stable._ Do you understand?" "Yeah," he yells back as he races to his room. Mrs. Lockwood shakes her head side to side with her hands on her hips as she watches his shape retreat upstairs. Once inside his room, he drops all his stuff in a pile and falls to the floor. His hands come up the sides of his head holding himself, his fingers in his hair. He can't understand what just happened. He can't be gay, he just can't be. Concern contorts his face. He doesn't know what to do. He looks around for an answer. His eyes land on his bed. He then scrambles to his feet and pauses. He examines it. His body quickly moves into action and he starts to change his sheets.

Monday finally comes. The bell for 3rd period rings. Jeremy is already waiting in his seat. "So were you able to finish the assignment?" Ms. Houston asks. She bends over supporting herself with her hands on her knees, lowering her face to meet his. She smells like jasmine. Her hair bounces from the movement. "Um... yeah I was." "See that wasn't so hard. Jerks are less jerky than you might think. You just need to penetrate their jerky exterior and extract what you need and leave them an empty husk." Ms. Houston squeezes Jeremy's shoulders together, nodding and smiling while looking him in the eyes, agreeing for him. "Now let's look at that drawing." Jeremy produces the drawing. Ms. Houston grabs the rendering from him and stands up tall. Looking at the portrait she 'hems' and 'haws' and her eyebrows raise signaling that she's impressed. "It's good. You really uhmmm _care_ about your subject," she says as she gives him a sideways glance from above, "not that there is anything wrong with _that_..." Fear enters Jeremy's eyes and it moves him to speak but she interrupts him, "Nope! Forget what I just said. You're straight. So. Straight. Good job on the drawing I'm totally gonna give you an 'A'. An 'A' for absolutely straight." Jeremy's eyes widen. "Better?" Ms. Houston asks with cheery hope and a smile. Jeremy doesn't move and doesn't say anything. She safely judges that she's not made anything better and places the picture in front of Jeremy carefully as if he's a bomb that she doesn't want to set it off. After gently placing it down the drawing she pivots on her heels and returns to her desk. Jeremy is left shaken.

Time passes and there is no sign of Tyler. Jeremy knows he's not coming to class but he really needs to see him, to talk to him. He knows that there is football practice after school on Mondays, so he decides that he will wait for Tyler there.

As Jeremy sits in the bleachers watching the practice, his eyes are glued on Tyler. Tyler notices Jeremy's presence and fights the urge to look back at him. 'What is he doing here?' he thinks to himself. Tyler wants to run over to Jeremy and tell him to go away but he can't, not in front of everyone. His mind is distracted. He keeps fumbling the ball and forgetting what he's supposed to do in the play, where to run. "What's up with you man? You've been weird all day." asks Matt as they reset the play again. "Nothing, just didn't get much sleep last night okay?" Tyler keeps glancing at Jeremy and remembering what happened. What Elena saw. He hopes that he covered up what was actually happening. He wonders if Jeremy told Elena what was going on. "Weird, Jeremy is here," Matt thinks out loud as he spots Jeremy sitting in the stands. He smiles and waves to him. Matt feels a bit like a big brother to Jeremy considering his history with the Gilbert family. Jeremy smiles and waves back, but the smile drops away quickly after. Tyler watches this exchange. "He's never been into team sports, especially football," Matt says curiously out loud. "Why you asking me? How would I know?" Tyler says defensively. "I wasn't asking you. I was just saying," Matt says confused. Tyler's face is self-conscious. "Just stop messing up the play okay?" Matt says with a smile and playfully pushes Tyler on the chest, his hand only lingering to lovingly caress and tweak his left nipple. Tyler smirks in response. They go on with the play.

The practice is finally over. Jeremy watches as all the guys start to gather their things, talking to each other as they leave the field walking home. Tyler is one of the first ones to leave. He's in a hurry to get away from Jeremy. Matt follows his friend off the field calling after him, "Hey wait up!" Jeremy jumps off the bleachers and jogs towards the guy's change room. Tyler is hastily grabbing all his stuff out of his locker and changing into his street clothes. Matt tries to keep up but he can't. "I'll catch you later man, I have to go do something at home," Tyler blurts out. "Alright man..." is all Matt can get out before Tyler leaves. Tyler tries to avoid and lose Jeremy by going through the empty dark school. As he turns a corner he crashes into Jeremy. "Hey we need to talk," Jeremy says compassionately when he sees it's Tyler. Tyler pulls Jeremy by the arm farther away from the changing room and grabs the front of his shirt and says, "We don't have anything to talk about! Nothing happened!" Tyler then steps around Jeremy and starts to walk away. "You know that's not true Tyler," Jeremy says to his back. Tyler stops walking away. "What do you want from me Gilbert," Tyler says with out turning around, "no one will believe you if you tell them, they'll believe me over you." "I just want to talk to you," Jeremy pleads. "Well we're talking," Tyler says while turning around. Both boys are in the dark and it's hard to tell the expressions on their faces. "We have to talk about what happened in my room," Jeremy says. "I told you already, nothing happened!" Tyler forcefully asserts while quickly stepping towards Jeremy. Doing this he steps into the light emanating from the main stairwell. The light envelopes his figure from the left. Shadows are cast from his bulging muscles over his body. Jeremy steps into the light. "You know something happened, don't deny it. No matter how much you try to lie to yourself you know you liked it and wanted it as much as I did." Jeremy is in Tyler's face now staring him down. The light plays in Jeremy's hair bringing out the lighter tones. It warms his delicate features. Tyler doesn't look away, he steps into Jeremy pressing his chest into Jeremy's chest. "I'm not a faggot like you!" "That's not what it seemed like when you were in my bed, moaning and begging me not to stop." Tyler's mouth tightens at the statement. He pushes Jeremy into the darkness. Jeremy tears back through the light and takes Tyler to the ground.

The boys jockey for dominance. Tyler is definitely stronger and he is able to straddle Jeremy and pin his arms down by his sides. Both are breathing very hard. Jeremy rages against Tyler, bucking his hips trying to throw off the older boy. Tyler grins at Jeremy's flailing, at gaining some kind of control in a situation in which he felt like he had none. Jeremy stops moving and says, "Get off me." "I will if you agree to drop this, that I'm not like you," Tyler says. Jeremy's eyes are narrow and his mouth tight with frustration. There is a pause. A change happens in Jeremy's demeanor. His eyes soften into a smoldering glare with a seductive smile growing on his face. He ignores what Tyler just said and says, "Unless _this_ is what you want," Jeremy asks slowly gyrating his hips upwards," and this is how you want it to happen. Here and now, in the school. So _dirty_." Tyler is taken aback by Jeremy and he slightly loosens his grip. Jeremy takes advantage of Tyler's state and rolls them over. He is on all fours over Tyler. His soft warm hands press Tyler's wrists to the cool floor and his knees bare his weight between Tyler's legs. "Face it! If you didn't like this, that wouldn't have worked." Jeremy grins and leans over Tyler, pulling and straightening Tyler's arms above his head. The fight in Tyler is waning. The shadow cast from Jeremy's arm runs across Tyler's now vulnerable eyes. The light still reaches the bottom of Tyler's face, reflecting off his moist lips. The shine of the light draws Jeremy's attention. Jeremy closes the gap between their faces. "No..." Tyler says looking away. "No what?" Jeremy responds, brushing his face on Tyler's, from his jaw to his temple, inhaling, smelling him. "No. I don't like this..." Tyler says even more meekly, his heart is racing. Jeremy moves in, his mouth is an inch away from Tyler's,"Really?" Tyler feels Jeremy's hot breath on his lips. He turns his face away. Jeremy follows Tyler. Tyler's face is turned as far as it will go, straining to turn away from the truth. Jeremy slowly moves in and gently places a kiss by his mouth. The warmth of Jeremy's soft lips breaks Tyler. Jeremy kisses him again, centered on the corner of his mouth this time. All the fight in Tyler has left and he turns his face to Jeremy. His eyes are no longer apprehensive, just open. Jeremy brushes his lips on Tyler's, his nose on his nose, gently left and right. He pulls back and his tongue comes out which slowly trails up the middle of Tyler's lips, barely tagging the tip of his nose. Tyler shudders at the warm wet sensations, and gulps. Jeremy kisses Tyler on the mouth. Jeremy moves his lips on Tyler's. After a while Tyler finally starts kissing back, pushing up, getting lost in the action. High pitched sounds of contentment are heard. Jeremy's tongue traces the seam of Tyler's lips seeking to gain entrance to his mouth. Tyler happily lets Jeremy invade his mouth. Their tongues touch and wrestle, entering each others' mouths. "Mmmm..." comes from Jeremy. Jeremy mouth tastes like fresh water. Jeremy can taste the slight fruit sweetness from sports drinks. The sound of their lips and desperate deep breaths scream through the silent hallways. Jeremy lets go of Tyler's wrists and pulls back and Tyler follows until he can't anymore, letting out a whimper. Tyler raises himself and props himself up on his elbows. His eyes search Jeremy's face and through rapid breathing he says, "What's wrong, isn't this what you wanted?" Tyler's hand comes up to caress and hold Jeremy's cheek and jaw. "No," Jeremy says, his face pained with sadness as he pushes Tyler's hand away. "Not like this, I didn't want to have to force you," Jeremy says while getting up off Tyler. Jeremy walks away into the shadows leaving Tyler dumbfounded on the floor, in the glaring light. Tears start to well in Jeremy's eyes.

AN: Tweaking the nipple is obvs a joke!


End file.
